Bright won the fourth race of the weekend, and together with his second, fourth, and sixth results in the preceding races, secured the round win and the trophy bearing his late teammate’s name.

The round was the first to be held at the revised 2.9km Pukekohe Park circuit in New Zealand since 2007, after the series' NZ round shifted to the Hamilton Street Circuit for the past five years.

Saturday’s first race (Race 6) was won by series rookie, Kiwi, and Garry Rogers motorsport driver Scott McLaughlin, with the victory being his first championship win in the premier V8 category.

The Pukekohe win backs up McLaughlin’s victory in one of the four non-championship races at the Melbourne Grand Prix last month.

Historically, 19-year-old McLaughlin is the youngest-ever winner of an Australian Touring Car or V8 Supercar championship round, eclipsing Rick Kelly who won in Canberra in 2000 at the age of 20.

McLaughlin led home Bright and Lowndes after qualifying fifth, with pole-sitter Whincup finishing last after straight-lining Turn 1 on the opening lap, and receiving a stop/go penalty for speeding in pit lane.

Bright’s second place came after qualifying in fifth, and Lowndes’ podium finish came after starting ninth on the grid.

Aiding Bright and Lowndes was the misfortune of Mark Winterbottom, who suffered a tyre failure whilst in the lead before finishing 19th.

McLaughlin failed to repeat his success in Race 7, finishing 25th after started from ninth on the grid, with Jamie Whincup, Will Davison, and Garth Tander claiming the podium.

Whincup’s victory was threatened by a desperate move by Winterbottom on the last lap, with contact forcing both off the track, pushing Winterbottom back to a 13th place result.

Pole-sitter Fabian Coulthard crossed the line in second, but was classified as tenth placing after a ten second penalty for a false start.

The Safety Car was deployed at half race-distance following Turn 1 contact between Shane van Gisbergen, Bright, and James Courtney - with the latter left stranded in the sand trap, ending his race.

Coulthard completed the podium, after Winterbottom’s half-race lead was eroded following more contact with Whincup, and a later braking error that forced Whincup into a sand trap and brought out the Safety Car.

Pole-sitter Whincup eventually crossed the finish line as the last-placed finisher in 24th.

McLaughlin’s weekend ended after a collision with a wall later in Race 8, causing damage to his Holden that could not be repaired for Race 9.

Jason Bright was joined by Garth Tander and Jamie Whincup on the Race 9 podium, with Bright’s teammate and Kiwi Coulthard following close behind.

Rick Kelly recorded the best-yet result for the 2013 season’s new manufacturers, crossing the line in seventh place in Race 7 in his Nissan Motorsport Altima, with teammate James Moffat claiming a ninth result in the same race.

Tim Slade recorded the best race result of 16th for the Erebus Racing AMG Mercedes-Benz E 63s in Race 8, after teammate Lee Holdsworth’s early promise of tenth fastest in practice.

Will Davison’s seventh, second, first, and fifth results at Pukekohe have pushed him up to first in the championship standings, and now leads Whincup by 16 points, with Lowndes a further 90 points behind in third.

James Courtney has slid from third to eighth in the championship, while Tander’s sixth, third, fifth, and second race placings have catapulted him from tenth to fourth in the current standings.

The 2013 V8 Supercar Championship will continue in three weeks time, with the Perth 360 round at Barbagallo in Western Australia.